This invention relates to apparatus for handling continuous forms and sheets and more particularly to apparatus for separating continuous forms into sheets and selectively laterally offsetting sheets into a plurality of laterally separated sets as the sheets are fed along a sheet path.
A typical computer output printer operation sometimes has the requirement that the continuous forms (fan-fold) output be trimmed and separated into sheets and then further separated into sets of copies, data sets or jobs for distribution to customers and/or operating segments of the organization. This work has traditionally been done off line using a manually set up burster and trimmer and by manual separation of copies, data sets and jobs. As computer output printers have been developed which operate at higher and higher printing speeds, the post-printing processing of the printed output has become more of a problem in achieving the throughput the printer is capable of producing. For this reason it would be desirable to perform these operations on line in the printer. Co-pending application Ser. No. 627,740 filed Oct. 31, 1975 entitled "SHEET HANDLING APPARATUS" by Harold P. Wicklund now U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,487 discloses a system for performing the post-printing operations on line in a printer for a number of predetermined sheet lengths.
It is the purpose of this invention to provide a universal apparatus for on-line separation and distribution of any size continuous forms output from a high speed computer printer without interruption of continuous running of the printer.